This invention relates generally to clothing, and more particularly to a work pant garment which is designed to be worn by construction workers.
There are certain situations in the construction and industrial trades in which a worker is subjected to handling or working with abrasive materials that cause undo and accelerated wear of the worker's clothing. An example of such a job is roofing because the surface which is being worked on (shingles and roofing boards) is particularly rough in texture. Thus, a worker kneeling or sitting on these types of surfaces experiences increased wear on the worker's pants. Typically, a worker performing these jobs wears denim pants or jeans. However, these garments are inadequate since the abrasion on the pants causes the pants to wear rather rapidly. One known solution to increased wear in the knee and seat portions of pants has been to wear rubber pads secured to the worker's legs by elastic bands. However, these pads tend to twist, fall down, and/or cut off the blood circulation to the wearer's legs.
Reference can be made to my U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,408 which is the best known prior art in this area. This patent discloses work pants having a waist portion with a front panel and a rear panel, and two leg portions. Each leg portion includes a reinforcing panel in the knee area. The rear panel of the waist portion is formed of a highly wear-resistant sheet material fabricated from leather with the rough surface facing outwardly. The reinforcing panel in the knee area consists of a lamination of an inner resilient pad and an outer wear-resistant sheet fabricated from leather with the rough unfinished surface facing outwardly.
This construction, while being especially effective in providing wear-resistance to the pants, suffers from several drawbacks. For example, leather material is somewhat expensive thereby increasing the overall cost of the jeans. Moreover, the leather is not as washable as other materials. There is presently a need for a wear-resistant material similar to leather which can be used to reinforce wear areas of pants that is not as expensive as leather and can be washed.
The present invention is directed to a work pant garment for use by a wearer in an environment wherein the garment is subject to excessive wear conditions. The garment comprises an upper portion that includes a seat and a lower portion that includes pant legs that are integrally joined to the seat and that extend downwardly therefrom. Both of the upper and lower portions are formed of a woven material that is comprised of heavy duty yarns. Moreover, the seat and pant legs each have an overlay panel affixed thereto, each of which are formed of an abrasion-resistant material that is defined by woven yarns that are selected from a group consisting of nylon and polypropylene. A polyurethane coating is adhered to the inner surfaces of the overlay panels for preventing migration of moisture through the panels.
More specifically, the overlay panels are formed of a blended weave of nylon and polypropylene materials, and each of the pant legs has a knee portion on which the overlay panel is applied. The knee portion overlay panel further includes a closed cellular foam pad that is adhered to the abrasion-resistant woven material. A two-part contact adhesive is applied to the foam pad for adhering the overlay panel to the abrasion-resistant woven material.
Accordingly, among the several objects of the present invention are the provision of a wear-resistant work pant garment having reinforcement panels in wear areas of the garment which are more wear-resistant than leather; the provision of such a garment having said panels which are capable of being washed regularly without loosing its durability; the provision of such a garment which is especially suited for roofing work and the like thereby protecting the worker from abrasion caused by contact with the roof and any associated discomfort; the provision of such a garment which is simple and rugged in design; the provision of such a garment which is inexpensively manufactured from readily available materials; the provision of such a garment having protective knee pads which cushion any impacts and abrasive contact with the wearer's knees; and the provision of such a garment which is aesthetically pleasing in appearance.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection with the accompanying illustrative drawings.